Over the past few weeks, Dubai Electricity and Water Authority (DEWA) ’s Innovation Centre at the Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Solar Park received several high-level delegations headed by ministers and officials from several countries, keen to learn about the latest technologies in the renewable and sustainable energy sector, and to review the centre’s innovations in supporting the future of clean energy. 

The official delegations who visited the centre recently included: HRH Princess Abze Djigma, Special Envoy of the President of Burkina Faso for resource mobilisation for SDGs and Climate Change in Burkina Faso; HE Wael bin Nasser Al Mubarak, Minister of Electricity and Water Affairs in Bahrain; HE Mika Lintilä, Minister of Economic Affairs in Finland; HE Simonas Gentvilas, Minister of Environment in Lithuania; HE Ireneusz Zyska, Secretary of State, Government Plenipotentiary for Renewable Energy Sources in Poland, and HE Omar Paganini, Minister of Industry, Energy and Mining in Uruguay. Delegations from Germany, Austria, and other countries also visited the centre.

HE Saeed Mohammed Al Tayer, MD and CEO of DEWA, welcomed the visits by the official delegations to the Innovation Centre. He emphasised DEWA’s commitment to exchanging expertise with ministries and organisations worldwide in renewable and clean energy, environmental sustainability, innovation, smart cities, water, and other areas of common interest.

“Through the centre, DEWA aims to support innovation in clean and renewable energy, develop skills and build the capacities of the next generation of innovators in clean energy technologies with a focus on developing and refining the talents of young Emiratis, providing a unique learning environment by hosting events, conferences, seminars and workshops, building partnerships with local and international universities and startups to cooperate in the areas of innovation and exchange of knowledge and experiences, in addition to raising awareness about clean energy and sustainability. The centre’s innovations in solar energy support the Dubai Clean Energy Strategy 2050, which aims to provide 75% of Dubai’s total power capacity from clean energy sources by 2050,” said Al Tayer. 

Waleed Bin Salman, Executive Vice President of Business Development and Excellence at DEWA, explained that the Innovation Centre reflects DEWA’s efforts to support innovation in clean energy and develop innovative solutions for the production and management of renewable energy. He noted that the centre supports DEWA’s renewable and clean energy projects, most notably the Mohammad bin Rashid Al Maktoum Solar Park, the largest single-site solar park in the world, based on the Independent Power Producer (IPP) model. It has a planned capacity of 5000 megawatts (MW) by 2030. When completed, it will reduce over 6.5 million tonnes of carbon emissions annually.

The Innovation Centre provides visitors with a unique experience to explore the latest innovations in clean energy technologies. The exhibition area on the first floor focuses on DEWA’s journey, key historical inventions and innovations in electricity, and the latest developments in renewable and sustainable energy. The area includes over 30 interactive exhibits designed to introduce visitors to developments in renewable energy. The site also houses the DEWA Museum, water desalination plants, and a visual space that explains the properties of light and solar radiation. The centre also features an exhibition on key components of photovoltaic solar cells and related technologies, including Concentrated Solar Power (CSP) and the Solar Power Tower. It also showcases DEWA’s renewable energy journey, Smart DEWA, solar cell applications in spacecraft and satellites, and the development of DEWA’s sustainable buildings.

The Innovation Centre at the Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Solar Park is open for the public from Saturday to Thursday from 10 am to 4 pm. Tickets can be booked on www.mbrsic.ae